Esther Beaton

Photography Techniques

Tutorials and quick tips on different genres of nature photography and different techniques of photography.

Take better photos with your smartphone

Reading Time: 5 minutesYou can take great photos with your smartphone – as long as you remember two things: The smartphone is for internet use only. The quality is not adequate for print, unless it’s postcard size or smaller. This is due the the small format, i.e., the sensor in the iPhone is smaller than your little fingernail. […]

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Behind the Scenes, Digital Photography, Environment, New South Wales, People Photography, Photography Equipment, Photography Techniques, , , , ,

Behind the scenes on this month’s magazine feature

Wedge-tailed eagle Raptor rehab story

Reading Time: 5 minutesThis week I’m taking you behind the scenes of my current published assignment for Australian Geographic. It’s only a short feature and you can see it in the November December 2016 issue called “Raptor rehab”. Here are some notes  as to how and why I shot some of the pics. I was allowed very limited

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Australian Geographic, Behind the Scenes, Conservation, New South Wales, Professional Photography, Wildlife Photography, , , , , ,

Judging The Nature Conservancy Photo Competition 2016

Eye Spy by Mark Seabury

Reading Time: 6 minutesNature Conservancy Australia contacted me in June to see    if I’d be interested in being a judge for this year’s Nature Photo Competition. Of course I would! I’ve admired the work of the Nature Conservancy in the US for years. They also spread their activities around the globe and have successfully protected over 48

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Announcements, Beautiful Images, Conservation, Exhibitions & Artworks, Nature and Wildlife, On the Beaton Track, Photo Competitions, Wildlife Photography, , , , ,

A quick lesson in quick lighting

Reading Time: 2 minutesWhat makes this family “portrait” so pleasing? No, it’s not the fact that it’s my family – my sister and nephews. It’s the lighting. My sister has taken this “selfie” while keeping in mind all the rules of a good photo: 1. Tight cropping. She’s not afraid to even chop a bit off one of

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People Photography, Photography Equipment, Photography Techniques, Quick Tips, , , ,

Don’t frame too tight

Reading Time: 2 minutesSometimes, when I’ve been judging photo competitons, I’ve had to evaluate an image  where the subject in the photo is wedged so tight in the frame  that you  get an uncomfortable feeling looking at it. When I’ve commented that “there’s no room to breathe” the photographer usually rebuts me by saying “but I’ve been criticised

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Bird Images, Cute Animals, Nature and Wildlife, New South Wales, Photography Techniques, Quick Tips, Wildlife Photography, , , , , , ,

A Powerful Story (or The One That Got Away)

Powerful Owl

Reading Time: 3 minutesAs a nature and wildlife photographer I’m outdoors a lot and I often get into scrapes. They make entertaining stories to share on blogs and elsewhere. One time, however, it was my photographic subject that got into one – or almost. I was walking home one cool August night, in the quiet seaside village of

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Did You Know?, Nikon, Threatened species, Wildlife Photography, , , ,

How to Photograph Owls

Lesser Sooty Owl

Reading Time: 6 minutesHow to photograph owls? Well. This is a tough one. Owls are one of the challenges of wildlife photography because there are so many things going against them: they’re nocturnal, they’re camouflaged and their small. Mostly. You really have to have a good grasp of the photographic technicalities to beat all these odds. On the

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Wildlife Photography

Sticks from the sky: photographing Australia’s insect giants

Brown Stick Insect

Reading Time: 3 minutesA stick insect dropped in one day. Not a large one. Probably blown in by the wind, which we’ve been having a bit of last few days. (In fact I’m writing this under “cyclonic” conditions.) I thought everyone knew about stick insects. They look like sticks and they are large. But my quick post on

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Macro Photography, Nature Photography

An Aussie Christmas Story

Galah in Christmas Bush

Reading Time: 2 minutesEarly one morning, I spotted some galahs feeding in my neighbour’s Christmas Bush. It was just after dawn, too early to disturb anyone, But you know what it’s like when you have to get the shot, right? Nothing is going to stop you, certainly nothing as mundane as getting permission to trespass in your neighbour’s

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Wildlife Photography
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